Tag Archives: Welsh Environment Bill

1. Joint Healthcare Waste and Resources Research Group and ISWA International conference (sponsored by Grundon Waste Management)

In conjunction with the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), the Group will be hosting an international conference on April 14 and 15, 2016. It will be held at St Thomas’ Hospital in London.

One of the speakers will be Olmo Forni, who spent two years between Kenya and Senegal, working in rural development, and Ivory Coast as an electoral advisor for UNOCI, the UN peacekeeping mission. In between his African endeavours, he investigated international hazardous waste trafficking and waste crimes at UNICRI, the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute.

In 2015, Olmo was part of REDR facilitators team for the training delivered to volunteers leaving for Sierra Leone, conducted a Waste Value Chain study in Northern Jordan, and two Emergency Waste Assessment in Yemen and Nigeria. He was also part of DWR initial response team to the Nepal earthquake.

His talk will focus on his DWR experience in Nepal, Jordan and Yemen to illustrate the role of waste management in emergencies, for the humanitarian sector and by donors, and the adequacy of existing minimal standards to respond today’s complex crisis and protracted displacement scenarios.

On 2nd February the National Assembly for Wales passed the Environment (Wales) Bill, a piece of legislation aiming to bring into law several measures to tackle climate change, including a target to reduce carbon emissions by at least 80% by 2050. The Bill also includes several waste and resources requirements. For example, legislation that could pave the way for some materials to be banned from treatment via Energy from Waste (EfW) facilities in Wales is suggested. Requirements for businesses to present recyclable waste separately for collection or face prosecution have also been included. The Bill also brings into effect a ban on the disposal of food waste to sewers, in line with similar laws that are already in place in Scotland.
On incineration of waste, the regulations state: “The Welsh Ministers may by regulations make provision for and in connection with prohibiting or otherwise regulating the incineration in Wales of specified kinds of waste”. This would be brought about by amending a specific section of the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999, which relates to the operation of waste incineration or co-incineration plants. The Bill is expected to become law in Wales in 2017.

The Environment Agency (EA) has published a suite of revised and updated guidance on the environmental permitting regime.The reformatted guidance, launched on 1 February, is part of an ongoing cross-DEFRA project to improve the quality of guidance, an outcome of the Red Tape Challenge. The intention is to make it more “focused on the users’ needs” said an EA press officer. A total of 25 new pages have been added to the agency’s website, explaining in simple terms topics such as which activities require a permit, how to apply for an exemption, and the meaning of ‘best available techniques’.The generic ‘How to comply with your environmental permit’ document has been withdrawn and replaced with two new guides on developing an environmental management system and controlling and monitoring emissions.

From today (1 June), waste producers will need to comply with the revised guidance set out in WM3, the joint UK environmental regulators’ guidance on classification of hazardous waste that sees a change in the way waste is assessed and classified in the UK.

3. Joint Healthcare Waste and Resources Research Group and ISWA International conference

In conjunction with the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), the Group will be hosting an international conference on April 14 and 15, 2016. It will be held at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust in London. Topics to be covered will include current and emerging technologies, sustainability and preparing for emergencies.

4. CIWM’s ‘Resourcing the Future’ Conference: June 24-25

The waste sector’s industry’s leading annual conference, brought to you by CIWM, ESA and The Resource Association picks up the general mood of the industry; are we still only able to focus on the impacts of austerity or is it time to start thinking about some ambitious changes? UK ministers and industry leaders will present the latest policy perspectives and a host of expert speakers will join the debate on issues such as local government austerity, market outlooks for key materials, collaborative approaches on waste crime, and the future of the circular economy.

The new Environment Bill, put forward by the Welsh Government will mean schools, hospitals and business will have to separate waste for recycling. The Bill will also extend charging on plastic bags to “bags for life”.